Thorn of the Rose
by Kitten's Blade
Summary: It's 1827 on the western frontier, it's troubled times. The sheriff is a criminal while his son, Duo, knows it. And he's the only one who can stop it. But, one day, a loner comes to town with unruly hair and Prussian blue eyes...and he changes everything.
1. Half

Okay people! It's a good old western! I know there's only three or four of them in GW/SM but I know that this is nothing like them! Now, I hope you enjoy this! But, the GW/SM characters I plan to have are still unclear. I just know this is a H/U story. And I also know that Usagi is Japanese... Just use your imagination! ^-^  
  
*I do not believe in disclaimers  
  
Chapter 1: Half  
  
Little 'Bunny of the Moon'; little 'Usagi Tsukino'. Both have the same meaning. The first in English, the second in Indian...both are the name of one girl. Usagi is what she prefers. But she struggles to live in the English world, for she is a heathen in their eyes. Indian Mother, English Father, nothing of a child. The year: 1827  
  
~The Beginning~  
  
The moans came from the girl that the woman cradled lovingly in her arms. Her hair was the blackest of midnight and silk; her eyes were as brown as a deer's felting horns, her skin as tan as leather but so much smoother.  
  
The girl had blue eyes, and silky hair like her mother's, yet her hair was yellow like a dandelion's. Her skin was paler than her mother's, yet more tan then her father's. She had a generous attitude and was a sweet child. But tonight was a night of grief.  
  
The girl held her mother's hand and buried her face in her chest. She gave small whimpers now and then, but the scene silenced her. Her father lay on the floor with a gunshot wound through his head.  
  
"It has come." She whispered into her child's hair.  
  
"What has come mommy?" she asked. Being a three year old was very hard in these times. The men are savage and it is scarce to find one good enough to support a family. It is scarce to find one to show emotion towards kids.  
  
"It is legend in our tribe that a person who leaves for a white man will perish. Along with the person they have chosen." She looked at the child's worried and sorrowful face.  
  
"Are you going to die to mommy?" she inquired in a small voice, barley more than a whisper.  
  
"Do not forget," she continued, ignoring the question for fear the answer might be true, "if you have no where to go, I want you to go to our tribe... you remember the way, right?"  
  
"Yes, mommy. You follow the moon's path to get there."  
  
"That's right sweetie. Ask for 'Black Deer.' He is your uncle, he will help you." She finished.  
  
"I don't want you to die, mommy!" She said grabbing her before she had a chance to stand up. "I love you!"  
  
"Listen!" She said shaking the child by the shoulders, "Promise me you will find him one day! Promise me!" Her voice carried urgency the child could not understand. The child began to look at the candle that was the only light source besides the moon. It gave a small flicker and made her shadow dance.  
  
"I promise. I'll find him one day." She said. She heard a small whimper as her mother hugged her firmly to her body. She felt a drop of water land on her forehead. "Why are you crying, mommy?"  
  
"Because I love you too much." She whispered.  
  
A small bark erupted from her mother's pouch. Her mother then let go of her and pulled a small ball of black fluff from the deerskin pouch. Even though they lived in a white man's world now, she still wore the hide of deer.  
  
"I got you something honey." She stated through an unbearable smile.  
  
"What is it, mommy?" she asked rubbing the soft fur of the animal.  
  
"It's a black wolf pup. His name is 'Shadow.' Will you take care of him for me?" she requested.  
  
"Of course I will, mommy! He's so adorable!"  
  
"I'm glad you like you like him, Usagi."  
  
"I don't like him." She paused looking at her mother's face witch always reminded her of honey, "I love him."  
  
"Now, I want you to take care of Shadow. And I want you to go to our village for Black Deer." She planted a kiss on Usagi's cheek.  
  
"Yes ma'am."  
  
"Remember this one thing," she touched her fingers to her lips and then twisted them once and pointed them to the ceiling, which beyond was the sky, "I will always be there," then she touched Usagi's head, "there," then she touched her chest, "and there."  
  
"You mean in mind, body, and soul?" She asked.  
  
"Yes honey, in all of those."  
  
The candle flickered out and then the embers lit it again in a second. Her mother was no longer there.  
  
"Mommy?! Mommy?!" Her voice begged to the empty cabin. "Mommy! Where'd you go?!" her voice held wavers as tears streamed down her cheek. Then she felt her hair blown by a draft. She turned to the single window and stepped over her father's body.  
  
She looked out the window as the moon hung low in the sky blinding the stars with its radiance. She stood in the chair near the window as her father's two horses galloped around in the field past her.  
  
She turned to see a tall figure standing in the doorway.  
  
"Mommy?" She asked walking to the figure, the dimness made it hard to distinguish different things. "Is that you?"  
  
The person reached out and took the pup and threw her over his shoulder. She didn't scream, there was no one to scream to. She knew from the black scuffed boots that he was the sheriff. She had seen them before. She had seen them when she was under the table hiding. She saw them standing in front of her father before the loud bag and before he fell, before her mother had come home.  
  
She bit the back of his neck.  
  
"Now, now child! I'm here to help you! Calm down." he screamed dropping her and rubbing behind his head.  
  
"You killed my daddy!" She screamed at him.  
  
"I did not!" He said in a fake tone of astonishment.  
  
"You didn't?" she asked as he kneeled down to eyelevel with her. She swiftly snatched her puppy before he could say a word. The moon, mother of the sky, lit in full shine tonight. It was bright outside.  
  
"I'm here to help you."  
  
She studied him. "Okay... but I get to keep my puppy?"  
  
"I assure you, nothing will happen to it."  
  
"Him." she corrected in a stiff voice.  
  
"Okay. I assure you that you can keep him."  
  
"Where are we going?" She asked.  
  
"We are going to my house. I will help you from there." He gave an evil smile than no child could recognize what it meant. A child is too pure- hearted to know the difference.  
  
"Okay." She said as he took her by the hips and lifted her onto a horse.  
  
"Yah!" He screamed with the snap of a whip. The horse took off to lead her away from the moon, away from her home, and away from her past.  
  
~13 Years Later~  
  
Usagi bent down and patted the black wolf which came to her heel at a leisurely trot.  
  
"Good boy, Shadow." She said. The dog which she was petting was the third generation [grandson, sort of,] of the wolf which her mother had given her. She gathered the rags-of-a-dress she wore and gathered them at her waist.  
  
"Duo!" She screamed in the middle of the garden she stood in. A boy only a year older than her stuck his head from inside the cabin.  
  
"Yeah?" He asked.  
  
"Will you please get me Shadow's tether? The head will be home in a minute." By 'head,' she meant the head of the house, the sheriff, which had kept her as a house servant.  
  
Her voice was angelic and her features were the same as they had been as when she was a child. The exceptions being she was taller, more mature, and had breasts.  
  
"Yes, ma'am." He said in politeness.  
  
A smile appeared on her face, "When will you stop calling me that?" She soothed sweetly.  
  
"As soon as you give me a kiss." He said mischievously. He had long, braided hair that reached all the way down his back and relaxed around his butt. His eyes were blue and he wore the deputy's badge on his belt. Due to the sheriff's cruelness, he would never wear it over his heart. And the sheriff happened to be his father.  
  
"Oh, when will you ever five up?" She said with a sweet smile. Everyone in town knew that Duo and Usagi adored each other, but neither would give in and admit it.  
  
"I won't give up unless you give me your body!" He said as he ran back in the door leaving Usagi to stand in the garden with a face as red as the tomatoes. Shadow nudged and licked her hand.  
  
All of a sudden Duo was hurtled out of the door and onto the ground. He stood up and brushed himself off hurriedly.  
  
"What have I told you, son?!" The sheriff screamed running out of the door after him.  
  
"I was only playin', pa!" Duo screamed in a pleading tone.  
  
The sheriff stormed up and snatched a vine off the rose bush. He walked to Duo in rage and raised his hand behind him and brought it across his Duo's face. A loud smack carried through the garden along with a gasp for breath. He turned to Usagi and brought his hand up again.  
  
Shadow brought himself up and leaped on the man with the graying beard and badge over his heart. Saliva dripped into the man's face in warning. The wolf bared it's teeth and opened it's mouth to show it could rip off his head any minute.  
  
The sheriff lay deadly still. The dog backed off and kicked dirt on the man.  
  
"Shadow didn't mean nothin' by it, Mr. Maxwell. He was just protecting me!" Usagi screamed. "But if you hit me again, he'll kill you!"  
  
"Let 'em try." He growled as he got up. "I'll shoot it's head off."  
  
Usagi helped Duo up and examined his face. "Damn thorns." She muttered. Duo looked at her tenderly but turned his eyes fiercely to his father.  
  
"As for you, boy," he began, "don't lay a finger on my bitch."  
  
Usagi felt her rage burn inside her. She felt Duo's hand cradle the back of her head and lead her tears into his shoulder.  
  
~Okay people! Hope ya'll liked it! I'll write more soon! Review and keep reading (Please!!!!!!!!!) 


	2. Runaway Plans

Nobody else here, baby  
  
No one here to blame  
  
No one to point the finger  
  
It's just you, and me, and the rain  
  
--U2, If God Will His Angels  
  
As you see, I've decided to put quotes in this book. But, I have to say, yet another chapter in this story! I also have to say that I am currently writing three books at one time! I feel like it's easier because if I have a block on one, I can turn to another! It also sparks Ideas for my others if I work back and forth, so I guess I don't update the fastest... forgive me! My book has no descriptive sex in it. None what so ever. Well, here's the next chapter in the west.  
  
*I don't believe in disclaimers  
  
Chapter 2: Runaway Plans  
  
Duo looked up at the dark, wooden ceiling of the room in which he slept. A sodden candle lighted the room. The wick was so tiny that it was only a small amount of light it gave off. Right before his tiresome eyes, the flame no bigger that an insect became as long as a finger. Duo immediately stood up and ran out of the door, brushing his hair that was unbraided out of his face.  
  
"Usagi! Usagi, where are you?" He screamed running up the large staircase. 'Oh, god, what has he done to her?!' He thought frantically. He stomped up the last step and ran down the hallway, he stopped at the door and listened for a second.  
  
"Get away from me you drunken fool!" screamed a voice that belonged to a girl. "Shadow! Duo! Help me, please!" Her voice was sodden with tears and she screamed so desperately that her voice cracked.  
  
Duo swung the door open and surveyed the scene. There was the sheriff, his father, with shreds of cloth in one hand and a wrist in the other, towering over a small and huddled figure. It was Usagi, she watched Duo eagerly for a second. The sheriff turned to face him.  
  
"Get out of here, boy! This a man's job!" Said the sheriff in a voice that wreaked the sound of alcohol. He turned back to the blonde, "What is this Usagi? The fiftieth time you've put up a fight? The fiftieth time I've succeeded?" Usagi cast a glance near the candle with a big tear. Duo looked quickly and grabbed the gun that he had not noticed was near the candle. The man was taken aback.  
  
"Get off of her. NOW." Duo ordered. The man held his hands up and let the girl slide out from under him.  
  
"Put the gun down, son. You don't want to kill me. Put it down."  
  
Usagi rushed behind Duo and hid next to the door, only letting her face show. She wiped the tears away with her sleeve, and then whistled. A loud crack sounded then Shadow began to blunder through the kitchen and up the stairs. The black wolf then stood next to Duo, she had called him as reinforcement.  
  
Duo held the gun wittingly. He walked to the side of the bed near the wall, all the while the man stood still. Duo held the gun to his father's face.  
  
"You know, pa? I've always hated the way you treated me after mom died. I've always hated the way that you treat Usagi too. And, before you die, I thought that I should let you know... Me and Usagi, we lost our virginity together." The man got a look of horror on his face. "Yeah, pa! I never humped that whore you sent me to! You disgusting pig, see you in hell from the point of view in heaven."  
  
He cocked the gun, then the trigger clicked and the man covered his face. Nothing happened. He cocked it then the trigger clicked again, and again. Nothing happened. The man bared a smile of a demon and grabbed the gun.  
  
"Looks like I forgot to load the gun. Oh, you're in big trouble now boy." His father said. He raised the gun and smashed it on Duo's temple with a crack that made Usagi cringe. Shadow began to bark wildly. Usagi quickly grabbed Duo and dragged him by his hands to the room next door. She bayed Shadow to come in the room too.  
  
He trotted along pleasurably, keeping his eyes on the startled sheriff. Usagi was at the door waiting patiently for the wolf, the wolf kept his eye still on Duo's father and ran into the doorframe with a yelp. Then he rushed into the room with a snarl at the man's laughs. Usagi only managed a small smile. Then she locked the door.  
  
"You silly beast." She said digging her fingers through his fur in a praising way. Duo gave a small grumble as he awoke from his short unconsciousness. She led shadow to the foot of the bed. Shadow was forced to sleep outside, only during a rain he used the lattice to climb to her window. He loved to sleep with her.  
  
"Is he dead?" Duo asked unsurely.  
  
"You gave him quite a scare. Now tell me of this whore you were talking about." She said with a slight pause as she helped him from the floor to her bed.  
  
"You sound mad." He said in a teasing voice, despite his injuries.  
  
"I might be." She said with a smile.  
  
"When I was fifteen, pa wanted me to cross the threshold into manhood with a whore he hired for me in the Silver Saloon." The Silver Saloon was the best and only Saloon in town. They chose silver because that's the color of bullets, but the second floor of the saloon was a whorehouse. "I wanted to have sex for the first time with someone I loved and cared about. Not with someone hired to do it. So I asked if she would pretend that we had sex, and pa still paid her. Then a month later, me and you did it secretly."  
  
"Ah, I remember it overwhelmed you. You didn't wake up until dinner time and then you went straight back to bed." They both gave a couple of snickers.  
  
"Yeah, but I wanted to ask you something." He said changing the subject.  
  
"Shoot."  
  
"Is that a pun? If it is then it's not that funny." Duo gave an expression that said he wasn't being serious. Shadow rolled over and crawled in between them and licked the blood off Duo's face.  
  
"Ha ha," She said mockingly, "I didn't mean it as a pun. Just ask me the question." She said with a smile.  
  
"If you ever runaway, I'm going with you."  
  
"I'm too afraid to runaway. That man will kill me." She stood up and grabbed a bowl with a sponge and wrung the sponge out. "I've got to clean the second cut he's given you today."  
  
"God, no! That crap hurts! I swear those stupid herbs must double the pain. Can't we just use water?"  
  
"C'mon! You're seventeen! You can handle a little pain. Or are you a little baby?" She put her fingers on the end of his nose and made a bunch a baby noises.  
  
"Fine, just do it quick." He said stubbornly.  
  
"Okay, as quick as I can. But you're lucky I have these herbs. If I didn't, your cut would get infected and swell to the size of a watermelon. Now, hold still. And don't grab hold of Shadow cause he won't like it."  
  
"Okay. Any thing else I should know? All sarcasm intended." He added quickly at her glance, although her glance was sweet.  
  
"Yeah, you should know that you're going to be locked in this room all night with me and Shadow." A devious grin came upon her face and then she placed the sponge on his cut.  
  
"He leaves in the morning. He'll be out of town tomorrow for the opening of the new town ten miles from here. He'll be gone for two days." Duo let a sigh out. Then he grabbed her wrist and held the sponge away for a second. "That stings!"  
  
"It cleans your cut better than anything else! Now if you grab the sponge again I'll have to throw you back out into the house with that drunk. Stay still."  
  
"I guess I'll take up on your offer later." He said with a cunning grin, despite the throbbing of the sponge.  
  
"Shadow, it looks like your going to be on the floor tonight." Shadow lifted his head briefly with a grunt then laid it back down.  
  
"Did you ever let your first wolf sleep up here with you?" He asked in a manner that could only reveal that he was in pain.  
  
"Shadow crept up the lattice and in here every night. Then that awful man came in here and shot him." She whispered.  
  
She had followed her first wolf to the den of his mate. There, they had a wonderful litter of eleven puppies. One pup was going to have to wait on the side while the other ten fed, the mother only had ten tits, as does every dog or wolf. Usagi watched the splendor of new birth that day. And only two weeks after, that evil man had slapped her, and then Shadow leapt up in defense and the sheriff shot him. That night, she snuck to the den of his mate, with Shadow's carcass. The only reason she did not die at the mercy of the mother wolf that night was because she was half Indian, and she remembered all the things her mother had taught her of animals. She took the black pup from that litter and set him aside as she buried Shadow in the graveyard out side of town. She was only nine and had no idea on how to feed the pup, which was not weaned. The farmer let her stick the new Shadow in with newborn piglets. After the new Shadow WAS weaned, she brought him home. She did the same thing with the Shadow she had now, but she was fourteen. She couldn't wait to see the wolf cubs that would be born next, because Shadow was the only black wolf out of the whole litter of eight. Now she was sixteen and she would make sure that Shadow did not die at the hands of that man.  
  
Duo looked at the blank expression on Usagi's face. He knew she was thinking of the wolf in which her mother given her. He rubbed his cheek to interrupt her thinking, she looked sadder every second.  
  
"Do you think that these scratches from the thorns will heal to NOT become scars?" He asked.  
  
"I think that they will heal in time, and they will be scars most defiantly. They'll make you look tough and all men will identify you with them. When your reputation as a gunslinger kicks off, you'll be called 'Scars.'"  
  
"That sounds a bit awkward. How about 'Braided Scars?'"  
  
"I think that sounds even better than my name, Braided Scars. It reminds me of my mother. Her name was Braided flowers." She smiled as she lifted the sponge from his head and put the bowl back on her vanity.  
  
"For now, just call me Duo. Okay?"  
  
"Sure. I'll keep calling you Duo. Until you win your first gun draw."  
  
"Yeah, just got to get a criminal in this town." He tried to hide his excitement, but he still let it show.  
  
"There's one in the next room you can start off with." She said with a frown.  
  
"He's a bit too experienced for me, but I promise you I'll kill him. And I'll kill him just for you." His smile was genuine.  
  
She walked back to the bed and sat next to him. "You sure do know how to charm a lady, by all means." She leaned over and began to gather his hair in one hand. She rubbed his hair on her cheek and closed her eyes. He had such beautiful hair.  
  
Duo just sat and watched her, her perfect hands glided over the brown hair in which he took so much pride. He jumped as Shadow stood and got off the bed and sat near the window, watching them intently.  
  
"Did he really mean what he said? About the 'fiftieth' and all?" Duo asked in concern.  
  
"I didn't want to tell you because I knew that he would hurt us both. I did it for you. He threatened to kill you in your sleep." Her voice was sorrowful as she tightened the grip on his hair.  
  
"I'm sorry I never stopped it before... If I had known, I would have sent the whole town on him. When did he start that awful thing?"  
  
"After I lost my virginity to you." She grimaced. "I'm glad that you were my first partner instead of him." The town did know that Usagi and Duo had a thing for each other. But they didn't know that they had such an involved relationship. It was inappropriate for two to not marry after going so far.  
  
"I am too. I love you, Usagi. I will never leave you." He reached out his hand and touched her face. "Runaway with me, while he's gone. Let's runaway together."  
  
"I will, if you come, I will." She let go of his hair and went around the bed. She lifted the covers then slid into them and he did the same, since he was already in his nightclothes.  
  
Duo scooted closer to her and held her tightly. Then he kissed her lips and she kissed back. He kissed her more passionately than ever before, and she returned it. She began to undo his buttons as he kissed her neck. Then he stopped and pulled her away.  
  
"What's wrong?" She asked in confusion.  
  
"I can't do this while he's watching me." He said shyly.  
  
"Who? No one else is in here."  
  
"I mean Shadow! I can't have sex while he's watching me!" Duo said in frustration. He turned to the black wolf.  
  
"How about I watch you and your girlfriend, huh?! How would you like that?!" The wolf gave a small whimper and turned towards the wall and sunk to the floor. Duo turned back to Usagi, she was asleep. "Damn dog." Shadow turned and looked at him with a small growl. "Okay, damn wolf then." He said in apology. Shadow turned back around with a satisfied grunt and laid his head back down.  
  
Duo heaved a big sigh and turned over towards Usagi. He had that strange feeling like some one was watching him. He turned back around and Shadow was staring at him again. "Fine. Get up here." He said exasperatedly.  
  
Okay people! Hope ya'll liked it! Please, please, PLEASE review! See ya'll next chapter. And I thank all of you who reviewed before, thank ya'll so much! 


	3. Taken

I'll miss the winter  
  
A world of fragile things  
  
Look for me in the white forest  
  
Hiding in a hollow tree  
  
[Come find me]  
  
I know you hear me  
  
I can taste it in your tears  
  
--Evanescence, My Last Breath  
  
Heyz! Long time, no update, huh? Well, I'm sorry about that... I can't tell you my excuse because there isn't one... *sigh* But any ways, I'll be updating a lot more now! I can almost promise you! Oh, and I'm putting warnings up on the content of the chapters from now on. Oh, and Ice Blue Eyes, you don't have to read this chapter if you don't want to. If you do read it then I can explain it later... *runs and hides*  
  
*I don't believe in disclaimers.  
  
*This chapter contains language, violence, and ADULT themes common in most western movies or books.  
  
Chapter 3: Taken  
  
Usagi awoke to the brightness of the sun heating her face. Shadow lay on the end of her bed, tongue lolling in unconscious sleep. Duo's leg lay sprawled across hers and his other folded awkwardly off the edge. She lifted his leg and took care not to stir him out of sleep, then walked quietly to the window.  
  
She saw a tall man with feathers braided into his hair and buffalo skin pants, riding a brown horse with a beautiful mane. The horse's mane was streaked with white hairs, his coat a chestnut brown, except for one solitary spot on its haunch, in the shape of a coyote howling, for the mark was disheveled from the second story window.  
  
She watched as more of these men on brown, white, and butterscotch colored horses paced behind him. They were Indians. They had been coming into town more and more often. They were of a very small number, it was rumored. They were asked for their clan's name upon their first arrival four months ago. Their answer was 'Black Wolf.' Usagi had kept Shadow at a very short distance from her, not wanting them to take her beloved pet.  
  
These Indians were unwanted by the sheriff. He was a very ugly, old man, but he was ferocious. This tribe had never been mentioned, had never been heard of before that day. He pushed them out of the town, and they came again two weeks later. They traded their tools of bone and some of their buffalo skin clothes for pots and pans. They had little business here, just small things and then they left town.  
  
"Are they here again?" She heard the voice grumble out of sleep.  
  
"Yes, the so called 'heathens' according to your father." She lowered her eyes to the window frame, "I think they're beautiful people. I wish I could adorn myself in unpolished leather and fur, it must make you feel so free."  
  
"Don't listen to my pa, he don't know nothin'." Duo's voice bit through the air.  
  
"I wonder if my mother is with them..." She looked at his blue eyes and could see he had nothing to say on the subject. He had lost his mother when he was seven; she died in the way of a bullet. She had protected Usagi from a shot from the sheriff, the head of the house, Duo's dad, her husband, so many names for one thing. Distaste, abhorrence, detestation, loathing, disgust, revulsion, dislike... all name the keyword: hatred.  
  
Usagi could remember Duo weeping over the coffin that smelled of fresh wood. The tears that fell down his face. The anger and hatred of the look he gave his father. The voice he used to assure her it wasn't her fault. The ladies in frilly black dresses that held a conversation of why she ever married him. The one lady in a black veil that, for a second, held a look of sympathy, but then a look of detest upon seeing the traits of Indian in her skin and face.  
  
"Usagi, for all we know, she could have sailed across the seas and gotten eaten by a sea monster from Greek mythology. Who gives a fuck about their moms?!" Duo was bitter at the mention of a mother. He could walk down the street and see a mother and young child and even talk to the child or mother. He could tease the little children about being good for their mother or he'd have to lock them up. But every time Usagi saw him after the mother had parted from his presence, he looked more hurt than bitter.  
  
"Obviously you don't." She said in a terrible tone of voice. She looked at him through her crystalline blue eyes. He couldn't stand the eye contact, he put the pillow over his sun-tanned face. His arms were muscular and the six-pack that patterned on his stomach was more than delicious, his chest held the most grace, with his now hard nipples. She couldn't resist apologizing, but she wanted him to give in to his harsh words.  
  
"I'm sorry." He finally said, he paused then gave a forced laugh and began another sentence, "I just realized that we both have the worst luck with moms."  
  
"Yeah, but I know it must be hard to see your mother die...I mean, I don't know if my mother is dead or alive, so it could go either way... I don't remember her that much anyways." She held sympathy in her eyes. Duo loved that look, he wanted to hold her tight so he could forget his mother.  
  
"My mother did something good on her death." Duo whispered in voice barley audible. Usagi moved closer to him.  
  
"What? What good did she do by dieing? She saved the little-slave-wretch- half-heathen-girl? That's not anything good." She whispered in a voice louder in tone than Duo's but he motioned for her to come closer. She walked up to the side of the bed where he lay. He motioned for her to come even closer. She leaned down and put her ear forth so the words could creep through the air slowly to her ear. He motioned once again for her to come closer. She put her hands on the bed and leaned to where the words would barley part from his breath. "Go on." She urged.  
  
Duo grabbed her shoulders and slung her on the bed. She gave a gasp of surprise then she lay stiff. "I needed and extra pillow," He said laying his head on her breast. She gave a small laugh then ran her fingers through his undone hair.  
  
"Were you going to say anything at all?" She asked with a smile.  
  
"I was going to say that she didn't save the little-slave-wretch-half- heathen-girl, she saved you. And she's given me one of the best things there is."  
  
"What?"  
  
"She gave me you. I would have never turned out the same without you."  
  
"Well, that's really sweet and everything, but I want to get on the subject of pillows. I don't think your head is on a pillow." She looked at him through the corner of her eye. His hand slid down her leg and found them hem over her tattered night dress. He lifted them hem slowly up her legs and over her head. He pushed her underwear down to her ankles and let his finger run up her leg lightly, sending a chill up her spine.  
  
Duo still had his head upon her breast. He slid his hand over her naval, then over her hip bones. He could hear her heart beating faster by the second. He slid his other hand under her neck and played with her hair. She could not suppress the whimper that came from her throat.  
  
Shadow's ears pricked. He crept off the bed and out of the window silently, as Duo explored the warmth and wet of the thing every man lived for. He crossed the roof to the lattice and jumped onto the lid of the water barrel. Then he crossed the yard, went through the tomatoes, crossed a patch of grass no bigger than four yards across and freshly cut by Usagi only days ago, and came to grass that was tall enough to cover him.  
  
The wolf finally reached grass tall enough to see over, he sniffed the ground. He paced a little forward while sniffing. Then he raised his ears and looked around for the origin of this fresh, new scent. A gray and white wolf stood at the top of a hill. It howled, and Shadow returned it with the depth of a bottomless pit.  
  
~Later~  
  
"Shadow?" Usagi called to the darkness, "Shadow?! God, where are you?! Shadow!" Her voice cracked in the darkness. Her cries filled the moon with distress; it hid behind the clouds to recoil from the pain. Dou watched as it hid itself and he knew that the tranquil night it had always lingered over had broken, and it couldn't be as brave as all the souls it had inspired to live one more night, to give it one more try.  
  
"Usagi, the moon's gone; we've got to get inside now." Duo said putting his hand on her shoulder and turning her way from the field beyond the grass.  
  
"No! Not until we find him. He could be dead. I'm not leaving!" She opposed.  
  
"Listen," he said in as comforting a voice he could muster, "What happened when the last Shadow disappeared?"  
  
"He had mated and had a litter." She replied, uncomforted.  
  
"And what about the one before that?" Duo asked again.  
  
"He mated too." Her spirits rose enough for her tone to change. "But I didn't even see him leave." She lowered her head to her hand and brushed her hair back. He tugged on her shoulder again, this time she let him lead her away. "I have a feeling that something bad is going to happen tomorrow."  
  
"Don't be so pessimistic. Nothing's going to happen tomorrow, it's going to be a normal, sun filled day without the head. He'll still be in that other town."  
  
"No, not him...Something's going to happen and it's not going to be good. I saw the white wolf hiding behind my eyelids when I closed them for sleep this morning." She sighed and wiped the back of her hand across her forehead. She kept in step with Duo.  
  
"So what? It might have been a figment of your imagination or something. You can't see wolves hiding beneath your eyelids anyways." He doubted that she had seen anything; no trouble ever came around this town. The only trouble would be if the gang the Sheriff always bragged about came around. He bragged he had killed one of them, and that they were now afraid of him, even though they threatened to come kill him.  
  
"The white wolf is a signal of danger. My mother saw it the day before my father died. I don't dare not to believe it." She paused in her tracks for a second and looked at the moon; it peered around the clouds to see if the chaos had ended.  
  
Duo examined the door where the loud crack had originated from the night before. Shadow had busted the door handle and all to get to Usagi's side. The loyalty from last night lay in the spoils of this mess.  
  
"I assure you Usagi; he wouldn't leave you and not come back. You remember the first Shadow died defending you." He patted her shoulder.  
  
"Yeah, but if the head gets him, he'll kill 'em. And it's not even mating season." Usagi kicked the broken door ferociously.  
  
"Tell Shadow that."  
  
"But you don't understand! If it's not mating season, then how am I going to feed the pup? I can't breast feed it and there aren't any piglets I can stick it with. It'll die! And this is going to be more than a litter of its size if he stays more than three days. They'll all die of the heat-" She began to talk faster and faster until Duo had to remind her that there was nothing she could do.  
  
"Usagi, he'll come back. Nothing or nobody's going to die." He petted her hair. The pups would all die. Duo had not cared for the pups, he had not wandered the town against a murderous man's will in order to feed a wolf pup. He had not felt the anger of losing something to the man who killed your father and stole you from your home. But he had felt the anger of his mother...  
  
"Your scars are getting infected. Let's go get them cleaned up." Duo followed her up the flight of stairs as her thoughts drifted to the Indian tribe that was visiting town. She cleaned his cuts and sent him to his room down stairs. When the door was shut, she lay face down and sobbed into the pillow, wondering if she could ever survive if Shadow didn't come back. This felt different.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
"Usagi! Come here, I need some help!" Duo cried as she fumbled down the stairs, "Quick, look outside. It's a big gang of criminals, it looks like."  
  
"Don't go out Duo. They're probably just passing through. Get a beer and a whore and then go on their way. Don't go out and get hurt, just keep an eye on them. And for heaven's sake don't get killed, please."  
  
"Yes, mother, I'll play nicely with the other children." He replied flatly.  
  
"Good boy." She replied as if he were serious. But he looked in the mirror and saw the scars that lay on his face.  
  
"I'm still debating on that name you gave me. So many choices. 'Braided Scars' being one of them."  
  
"Well, I want you to choose the name you want, not the one I suggest. If the name I suggested gives you doubts, change it before it's too late." She took his hair and folded it above his head and put his hat over it.  
  
"Forget it. I'm not chopping it off." Duo said yanking the hair from beneath the hat.  
  
"I'm not suggesting you cut it. I just wanted to see what you would look like." She pinched his butt. "Get your panties out of a wad. Take a joke."  
  
He had nothing to say, he planted a peck on her cheek then walked to the door. "I'll see you when I get home darling." He said in a voice that suggested this was their house. "I've got to go to work now. Sweep up the floor and wash the dishes and I'll go round up some volunteers to dust that old cell."  
  
She gave a smile and watched him leave. He walked up to the ten men and proceeded to have what appeared to be a friendly conversation.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
The roof of the house began to sizzle and crack underneath the flames that flew freely above the whole town. They had been criminals. They had been what Duo had thought of them. They had burned down the law houses first. (Court houses, jail house, etc.) Then they moved to the saloon and then pillaged the rest of the town, taking what they desired of the town's belongings.  
  
They gathered all of the town's people in one spot under the church. Duo, who was helplessly planning what should be done behind a tombstone in the grave yard, had taken Usagi and ran. The town's people were holding their children tightly.  
  
"Hey, kid," what appeared to be the leader said, "How old are you?"  
  
"I'm-I'm..." She looked at her mother for reassurance, the mother nudged her in fear, "I'm 9 ½, s-s-s-s-sir."  
  
"Good. Men, I want you to go around and collect the children, bring them here." His horse reared as he pointed to a statue of Jesus crucified on the cross. The statue was very large in size and a drop landed under Jesus' eye as it began to rain. The statue appeared to be crying.  
  
"Give me all the girls separate from the boys." The leader ordered. The men did as told and put the girls at the statue's feet. The tallest girl was twelve and her forehead barley reached the platform where the cross began. The statue was immensely thick and the marble and stone it was made of was worn by the little rain and dust they had.  
  
"Have at it, men. Rape 'em, kill 'em, what ever pleases you." The men looked around cluelessly. They would rob, they would burn down things, they would murder, and they would ruin the town the Sheriff lived out of hatred of the Sheriff... but they wouldn't rape little children, they would kill them, not rape them. They wouldn't rape the innocence not of age to understand such a thing. But the town women were a different story, they knew what sex was, they had preformed the act...these children had not.  
  
"What are you standing around for, move it!" The leader shouted in anger. The men braced their horses and began to shift nervously on the saddles. The rain was beginning to come down harder  
  
"We won't do that, boss." Said a young man, about Duo's age, He had blonde hair and blue eyes with a serene look; he wasn't suitable for this group. "They're kids and don't know nothin' about it. Ain't no pleasure gonna come from a kid. A kid breaks our honor code."  
  
"I don't give a fuck about your honor code. Now stand back while I take target practice or be a target. Quatre, as your uncle, I don't want to have to kill you but I will if I have to." The young lad tugged on the reigns slightly, making the horse turn around and take place among the other bandits. The horse's metal shoes began to suck and churn the earth. The boy did not want to be here in the first place.  
  
"Which kid shall it be first?" He silenced and looked around the small girls. "How about..." He found the twelve-year-old girl and aimed his gun at her head, "you."  
  
The little girl hid her face and began to cry. Then Duo couldn't stand it anymore, enough was enough, he couldn't hide any longer. Usagi watched the water rolling off his hat and knew what he was thinking. He sprang from behind the tombstone and began to race towards the girls. She grabbed his shirt without thinking. "Please, be careful." She begged. Quatre saw the man and the arm holding him from behind the tombstone, he kept quiet.  
  
"I love you, don't miss me too much." He said in a sorrowful voice. She watched the man transfixed on the girl and Duo springing to her rescue. Those were his last words to Usagi, she knew it, he knew it. There was nothing that could be done now. The rain rolled down her face blending with her tears.  
  
"Stop! In the name of this town, stop!" Duo yelled as the person in charge's finger was tensing on the trigger.  
  
"Says who?" The leader asked, looking up through the rain.  
  
"Says me, deputy of this town," Duo answered, "Let the kids go, girls and boys. Don't you have a heart?"  
  
"No, the one pounding in my chest has turned cold. And I see the badge on your breast has gone to your head. As the town turns to ash, you stand here and protect the people who have nothing but their lives. There isn't a point in protecting them."  
  
"They have their lives, and that is why I will protect them."  
  
"Stop with the Heroics! You're making me laugh." The man gave some chuckles and signaled for the other men to do the same. They only laughed weakly with fakeness blandly showing.  
  
"Preacher, preacher, come forth and you can save these children." The leader screamed. A man with a cross in his hands almost stumbled forward.  
  
"Sir, how may I save these children?"  
  
"I want you to read Mr. Deputy his funeral."  
  
The preacher shot an uneasy glance to Duo. He nodded and let the preacher know that it was okay, he was ready. Usagi wept in the graveyard, watching and listening to every word spoken. The rain had soaked her through, her white maid's dress stuck to her body with the rain.  
  
When the funeral had been completed, two shot rang through her ears, followed by what seemed to be thousands more. The two shots fired first were the leader and Duo's. They both stood for a second, and then fell in the mud. She didn't want to look at Duo fall, but she saw him land on his knees, and then his face covered in the mud. The next shots were the ruthless group killing everybody in the town but their teammates. Usagi began to cry and weep helplessly.  
  
All of a sudden, a horse's hooves were slapping the mud in her direction. She dare not turn around, but she found the boy named Quatre stretching a hand out to her.  
  
"Come, quickly!" He urged. She sat, confused. "I was forced by my father to join my uncle in this line of work! I'm totally, honestly, good. Now, please, come!"  
  
She didn't know what to do. Duo being presumably dead, she bent down and ripped the ankle-length dress to her upper thighs on both sides, then she grabbed his hand and straddled the horse. She wrapped her arms around his waist and held him tightly as they flew past the statue of Jesus, where lay Duo's body at the foot. Usagi only caught a small glimpse of the face, but she could have sworn that the statue was crying...blood.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Okay, I hoped ya'll liked the chapter, but don't think this will be the last mention of Duo! Hiiro might be coming in the next chapter... I'm not sure who else might be. But I hope ya'll's attention is caught by this chapter and I'll be looking forward to my next upgrade! 


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